With a substantial majority in the House of Representatives, a solid position in the Senate and four years in which to progress Labor's long held commitment to UN treaties & conventions as well as international law & rules based order, it is being put on notice concerning the national electorate's justifiable expectations - Part Two

 

President Donald J. Trump may be well past his physical & cognitive prime, with a narcissistic personality wrapped within an incoherent 'master race' world view which is rapidly coalescing into a vicious & violent form of fascism, but as yet neither the US Congress nor the American people will remove him from office.

Which leaves America's historical allies and long-time trading partners at the mercy of the delusional reasoning behind Trump's 'America First: Making America Rich & All Powerful' decision making and the never-ending White House churn to date of presidential executive orders (63), memoranda (16), proclamations (258), assorted remarks (35), and accompanying fact sheets (142).

On Monday 12 May 2025, Trump announced representatives of the Trump Administration had met with representatives of the People's Republic of China in Switzerland and the US had agreed to a 90 day pause in import tariffs created since 2 April 2025 — with the US lowering its tariffs on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points for duration of the pause and China agreeing to lower its retaliatory tariffs on American goods by 115 percentage points for the duration.

Leaving Trump and his inner circle trying to spin the fact that as part of this agreement he has insisted on imposing a crippling 30 per cent import tax on America's own domestic industry, business & household consumers of Chinese produce & products until around mid- August 2025.

If ever there was an urgent need for a 'Oh quick, look at that shiny thing over there!' moment it was on that Monday and Trump promptly trotted it out in a bizarre executive order titled Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients, May 12, 2025 and an equally bizarre fact sheet Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Actions to Put American Patients First by Lowering Drug Prices and Stopping Foreign Free-riding on American Pharmaceutical Innovation, May 12, 2025.

What these two documents indicate is that Trump has turned his disgruntled gaze towards "foreign health systems [who] get a free ride" with US citizens "effectively subsidizing socialism aboard [sic]".

That 12 May Executive Order reads in part:

Sec. 3. Addressing Foreign Nations Freeloading on American-Financed Innovation.

The Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative shall take all necessary and appropriate action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in any act, policy, or practice that may be unreasonable or discriminatory or that may impair United States national security and that has the effect of forcing American patients to pay for a disproportionate amount of global pharmaceutical research and development, including by suppressing the price of pharmaceutical products below fair market value in foreign countries.

While Sec 5 ends with:

(vi) the heads of agencies shall take all action available, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, to address global freeloading and price discrimination against American patients.

According to this same executive order, on or about 10 June Trump's thinly disguised threats — against US multinational pharmaceutical corporations who don't immediately respond by lowering their domestic pricing to a new level set by the Trump Administration — will morph into further "aggressive action" by the US federal government.

It seems that Donald Trump may intend to deflect attention from the failure of his economic war on China, by placing those sovereign nations with universal public health care and welfare safety net systems on a MAGA enemies list and, pursue yet another targeted economic war — this time against countries that are definitely not super powers.

With over 180 other countries due to come out of the original 90 day tariff pause on or about 7 July, it is possible that Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland & Denmark in particular will find themselves among countries publicly labelled by Trump as pharmaceutical "freeloaders" with additional tariffs arbitrarily imposed.

 

At the beginning of April Trump's ability with the stroke of a presidential black sharpie or a late night social media post to create an over 180 nation-strong rolling global trade disruption & trigger widespread financial market uncertainty seems to have produced in him a personally gratifying inner glow. He will likely want to revisit that sensation.

The Albanese Labor Government now enjoys a record majority in the House of Representatives, in no small measure because the Prime Minister assured the Australian people that he would not allow Trump to dictate to the federal government on matters concerning this nation's own national security, economic stability, biosecurity protections or its universal health care and welfare safety net provisions.

 

"It's not surprising that there is a push and some opposition to the PBS but let me be very clear and explicit — the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is not for sale," Albanese said during a speech on Thursday, describing the program as a "core part of who we are as Australians".

"It is a monument to the fairness at the heart of Australian life and we don't negotiate our values."

[SBS News online, 19-20 March 2025]

 

Trump's appetite for the humiliating domination of others is insatiable and seemingly only encouraged by any attempt to placate or negotiate with him as a first response to his political & economic aggression — he will keep insisting on further access & concessions while repeatedly taking economic bites out of any country which he considers weak.

The Albanese Government resisted Trump's expectations that Australia — à la former Coalition Prime Minister Morrison — would publicly support his economic war on China and that won't sit well with a US Administration which sees Australia as nothing more than a convenient geopolitical pawn it can move at will.

As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threw his backing behind Indonesia’s bid to join the trans-Pacific free trade pact to help counter the global chaos created by US President Donald Trump’s trade war, Farrell also confirmed the government was not rushing to seek relief from US tariffs from the White House.

“China is our largest trading partner. Chinese trade is almost 10 times more valuable to Australia,” Farrell said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review to mark his reappointment to the trade portfolio after the election. “We don’t want to do less business with China, we want to do more business with China.

“We’ll make decisions about how we continue to engage with China based on our national interests and not on what the Americans may or may not want.” 

[Australian Minister for Trade & Tourism Sen. Don Farrell quoted in Australian Financial Review, 15 May 2025] 

It appears that the best way forward for any national government — especially the Australian Government — is to repeatedly say no to Trump, lodge a formal complaint against the US with the World Trade Organisation and, in Australia's case, also consider giving notice that it is withdrawing from the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) which Trump has already trashed since his inauguration and, inform the US Government that Australia will be undertaking a formal review of every and all agreements which allow US defence forces a full-time or periodic presence on Australian territory or in its coastal waters as it is proving itself to be an unreliable ally and regional partner.

****

How will Trump react to the international media asserting it was the Australian voter's dislike of himself & his policies which were a primary reason the conservative coalition opposition lost the May 2025 Australian federal general election?

 

The reason for an electoral win or loss is never singular in nature or without nuance and, highlighting one particular aspect may at a stretch be flirting at the edge of legitimate analysis.

However in a world where the 47th US president insists on inserting himself into the domestic politics of any country that catches his often momentary attention, it is possible that Trump will decide to take offence at the considered decisions taken by millions of Australian citizens on 3 May 2025.

Nationwide News, 4 May 2025, article excerpt:

Saturday’s landslide election win for Anthony Albanese is being viewed the same way around the world as two words are repeated over and over.

The result that saw Peter Dutton come face-to-face with the worst possible outcome — a resounding defeat and being ousted from his seat of Dickson — can be attributed at least in part to the “Anti-Trump” factor, according to media watching from afar.

“Dutton was seen by many as Australia’s Trump,” the BBC’s Tiffany Turnbull wrote.....

“(It) appeared to go down badly with voters, despite his attempts to shake off comparisons made between his policies on immigration, public sector cuts and China, and the Trump administration.”

CNN described the result in similar terms.

“Observers will be examining the results for signs of blowback against Australia’s conservative candidates from US President Trump’s whirlwind 100 days in office – after comparisons were drawn between Dutton’s policy offerings and those of the US leader,” the US broadcaster wrote.

CNN noted that Australia had appeared to follow Commonwealth compatriat Canada in pushing back against far-right politics.

“Another center-left prime minister, Mark Carney of Canada — which like Australia is a G20 nation, as well as US ally — recently scored an election win widely chalked up to anti-Trump sentiment.”

The Washington Post described the win for Labor as “buoyed by anti-Trump bump”.

The New York Post took a similar view of the Trump link to Australia’s election result.

“Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party was projected to win elections, broadcasters said on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives powered by concerns about the influence of US President Donald Trump.”

The New York Times cited Trump’s tariff war as a key factor in the way Aussies had voted Saturday.

“A superpower loomed large as Australians headed to the polls. It wielded trade barriers as a means of political coercion, imperiling Australia’s export-dependent economy,” the Times wrote.

“Three years ago that country was China, which had imposed punishing restrictions on many Australian exports, sent spy ships lurking near Australia’s west coast and struck an alarming military pact with a regional neighbor, the Solomon Islands.

“This time, as Australians cast ballots on Saturday, that external factor is the United States and President Trump.”.....

The Guardian, 4 May 2025, article excerpt:

Australian PM shrugs off questions about Donald Trump as other world leaders congratulate him

Anthony Albanese says his job is to “represent Australia’s national interest” after his thumping election win, shrugging off questions about when he might visit the United States to speak to Donald Trump about tariffs and trade.

The re-elected prime minister said he had spoken to the leaders of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, France and the UK, and looked forward to calls with the presidents of Indonesia and Ukraine.

“My job here is to represent Australia’s national interest and that’s what I’ll be doing, and the first thing I’ll be doing is going to Canberra,” he said......

Could I have your attention
Mark Knight

Trump rips $300,000 funding from Australian not-for-profit Positive Change for Marine Life Limited

 

Positive Change For Marine Life Limited, formed in in the NSW Northern Rivers region in 2012, is a not-for-profit registered corporation with a four member board of directors which has a stated community driven mission to empower ocean action, developing long-term initiatives that benefit the sea and the people who rely on it for survival.

Now headquartered in Queensland, it has teams on the ground in Australia (where it first was founded), India and Solomon Islands. These teams are made up of conservation scientists, community engagement specialists, spatial mapping & data specialists, as well as members of the volunteer and intern community - often marine biology or conservation science students.

Positive Change for Marine Life has also partnered groups in Brazil, Japan, Indonesia and Seychelles for specific projects.

Their work appear to complement the work of other Australian environmental groups, such as the NSW Nature Conservation Council.

Positive Change for Marine Life Limited's annual report and financial statement show it to be a responsible ad stable corporation.

However an overbearing, belligerent and volatile 47th President of the United States of America on the day of his inauguration unleashed a policy which resulted in this.......

ECHO, 5 February 2025:

With US President Trump axing funding for aid programs across the globe, it’s also forced a marine conservation group to start laying off staff and stop work while they ‘work around the clock to fill the $300,000 gap that has been created’.

Positive Change for Marine Life co-founder and CEO, Karl Goodsell, told The Echo the not-for-profit, formed in Byron Shire, and most of its Australian employees are located in the North Coast.

‘We started as a small, volunteer-led org in 2011 off the back of work that myself and the cofounder were doing in Japan around sustainable fisheries, dolphin hunting and shark finning issues. We registered in 2012 and have since grown to run programs in seven countries, with teams now in Australia, India and the Solomon Islands who focus on turning waste into wealth, rewilding coastal floodplains and coral reefs and developing sustainable fisheries within some of the world’s marine biodiversity hotspots,’ says Goodsell.

The Trump administration, under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has frozen funds of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), impacting millions across the planet. It’s also put lives at risk in third-world countries, with food monitoring programs being reportedly defunded..... [my yellow highlighting]

Read the full article at

https://www.echo.net.au/2025/02/marine-conservation-group-hit-by-trump-funding-cuts/

What is the lesson Australia can draw from the first shots fired in the Dumbest Trade War in U.S. History?

 

On the matter of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) situated in The Executive Office Of The President.

The full text of the Agreement is available here and the Advisory Committee Reports are available here. The latest information regarding significant trade barriers can be found in the 2021 National Trade Estimate Report, see here.

Australia Trade Summary

U.S. goods and services trade with Australia totaled an estimated $77.1 billion in 2022 (latest data available). Exports were $52.1 billion; imports were $25.0 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Australia was $27.1 billion in 2022.

U.S. goods exports to Australia in 2023 were $33.7 billion, up 10.2 percent ($3.1 billion) from 2022 and up 29 percent from 2013. U.S. goods imports from Australia totaled $16.0 billion in 2023, down 1.3 percent ($216 million) from 2022, but up 72 percent from 2013. U.S. exports to Australia account for 1.6 percent of overall U.S. exports in 2023. The U.S. goods trade surplus with Australia was $17.7 billion in 2023, a 23.2 percent increase ($3.3 billion) over 2022.

U.S. exports of services to Australia were an estimated $21.6 billion in 2022, 30.6 percent ($5.1 billion) more than 2021, and 5 percent greater than 2012 levels. U.S. imports of services from Australia were an estimated $8.8 billion in 2022, 41.4 percent ($2.6 billion) more than 2021, and 20 percent greater than 2012 levels. Leading services exports from the U.S. to Australia were in the financial services, travel, and telecommunications, computer, and information services sectors. The United States has a services trade surplus of an estimated $12.7 billion with Australia in 2022, up 24.1 percent from 2021.

U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Australia (stock) was $173.7 billion in 2022, a 1.6 percent decrease from 2021. U.S. direct investment in Australia is led by nonbank holding companies, mining, and manufacturing.

According to OEC.World:

In October 2024, United States exported $2.49B and imported $1.59B from Australia, resulting in a positive trade balance of $901M. Between October 2023 and October 2024 the exports of United States have decreased by $-432M (-14.8%) from $2.93B to $2.49B, while imports increased by $195M (13.9%) from $1.4B to $1.59B.

On the fifth day of the US 47th Presidency the USTR issued the following statement:

USTR Announces Review of Unfair Foreign Trade Practices

January 24, 2025

WASHINGTON-- The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced today that it will review foreign trade practices to account for those practices which may be unfair to the United States, including those practices that may be unreasonable or discriminatory and that may burden or restrict United States commerce.

This review is conducted pursuant to Sections 2(c) and 3(c) of the Presidential Memorandum "America First Trade Policy" signed on January 20, 2025.

By 1 February 2025, the 12th day of this current presidency, at least the first three of what appears to be cursory reviews of foreign trade practices (allegedly enabled by US International Emergency Economic Powers Act) had been completed and Canada, Mexico and China had received notice of an increase in tariffs across the board on their goods & services entering American territorial boundaries.

NOTE: Previous to this the vast majority of U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico could enter the U.S. duty-free, thanks to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

From the start date of this new tariff regime on 4 February 2024, these Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods & services have an estimated combined value at the end of the first 12 months of more than US$1 trillion.

As the actual dollar cost of these tariffs are born predominately by US importers of Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods/services and businesses are not prohibited from passing 100% of tariff-induced costs onto the consumer, although the impact of these tariffs will be felt in all four national economies it has been calculated that with the initial retaliatory counter tariffs in place US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will potentially halve in 2025, subsequently significantly impeding America's economic growth.

Now that he has started a trade war with his two largest free trade partners, it appears that Trump wants to temporarily de-escalate tensions and has suspended imposing the new tariffs on Mexico for a month and appears to have spoken with the Canadian prime minister with unspecified results.

There are perhaps lessons here for Australia when Trump announces increased tariffs on Australian exports to the United States.

Hopefully the lesson learnt is that Australia should match any new tariff rates percentage point for percentage point across the board and insist there is no bargaining this position away - either by agreeing to an offer of a smaller increase in US tariffs, by the US excepting certain goods & services from these tariffs or by entering into new or altered agreements on any matter in which Australia and the United States can be thought to have a mutual interest as a condition of an easing or removal of tariffs.  

Repeatedly stating with strong emphasis that under the 2005 Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) the US already shows a trade surplus with Australia that it knows it can bank - and it has been certain of that trade surplus almost without exception for the last 123 years since 1901 when the newly established Commonwealth of Australia was exporting A$6.9 million (7.0% of all exports) to the US and was importing from the US A$11.7 million (13.8% of all imports) in return.

Trump's set the bar high as he begins his punitive Trade War 2.0 with the rest of the world

 

On 1 February 2025 the U.S. White House released a Fact Sheet entitled "Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico and China".

Stripping away 90 per cent of the rhetorical posturing contained therein, the fact sheet stated that:

 

"President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff."

Going on to assert: 

"Access to the American market is a privilege. The United States has one of the most open economies in the world, and the lowest average tariff rates in the world.

While trade accounts for 67% of Canada’s GDP, 73% of Mexico’s GDP, and 37% of China’s GDP, it accounts for only 24% of U.S. GDP. However, in 2023 the U.S. trade deficit in goods was the world’s largest at over $1 trillion.

Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest. President Trump is using the tools at hand and taking decisive action that puts Americans’ safety and our national security first."

That same day in immediate response to these increased US tariffs, the Canadian Government released the following:

News release (excerpt)

"February 1, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada

Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that the Government of Canada is moving forward with 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of goods in response to the unjustified and unreasonable tariffs imposed by the United States (U.S.) on Canadian goods.

These countermeasures have one goal: to protect and defend Canada’s interests, consumers, workers, and businesses.

The first phase of our response will include tariffs on $30 billion in goods imported from the U.S., effective February 4, 2025, when the U.S tariffs are applied. The list includes products such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, spirits, beer, coffee, appliances, apparel, footwear, motorcycles, cosmetics, and pulp and paper. A detailed list of these goods will be made available shortly.

Minister LeBlanc also announced that the government intends to impose tariffs on an additional list of imported U.S. goods worth $125 billion. A full list of these goods will be made available for a 21-day public comment period prior to implementation, and will include products such as passenger vehicles and trucks, including electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, aerospace products, beef, pork, dairy, trucks and buses, recreational vehicles, and recreational boats.

In addition to this initial response, Ministers LeBlanc and Joly reiterated that all options remain on the table as the government considers additional measures, including non-tariff options, should the U.S. continue to apply unjustified tariffs on Canada......"

On 1 February 2025 the Government of Mexico also responded to the new US tariffs by instructing its Secretary of Economy to implement "tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico's interests" and its President strongly countering the absurd claims in the White House 'fact sheet' with: 

"We categorically reject the White House's slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory.

If such an alliance exists anywhere, it is in the United States armories that sell high-powered weapons to these criminal groups, as demonstrated by the United States Department of Justice itself in January of this year."

As yet, Mexico has not indicated which US goods would be included in retaliatory tariffs. However media reports canvas the possibility of pork, cheese, fresh produce, manufactured steel and aluminium being included.

China's response became known on 2 February 2025.

China Daily, 2 February 2025:

China will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization and take necessary countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday after the United States announced it would impose 10 percent additional tariffs on goods from China.

The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that the unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US seriously violates the rules of the WTO, fails to address US domestic issues, and undermines regular economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

"We urge the US to objectively and rationally view and handle its own fentanyl and other issues, rather than resorting to tariff threats against other countries," the commerce ministry said in a statement.

China urges the US to correct its wrong actions, move toward the same direction as the Chinese side, face problems directly, engage in frank dialogue, strengthen cooperation and manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and respect, the commerce ministry said.

Exactly how much Trump's trade war is going to cost all four national economies is uncertain but it is not unreasonable to start the count in the billions of dollars annually if the situation continues unchecked. If so this can be expected to knock percentage points of the Gross Domestic Product of Canada, Mexico and probably that of the national debt-ladened United States.

The implications for Australia are uncomfortable to say the least.

In the first instance because assurances appear to have been given to Canada and Mexico in 2024 that the US tariffs imposed on their goods & services in 2025 would not reach anywhere near 25 per cent and, Australia can no longer have confidence that the new tariff level discussed with it will be a low as promised.

In the second instance because there is no way that global trade will not experience some disruption as these tariffs are rolled out to more OECD countries during the coming months and, as Australia with an export market spanning at least 27 of the 38 countries in this category we have a potential risk exposure independent of whatever absurd import/export trade demands Trump decides to makes of us.

BACKGROUND

Financial Review 30 January 2025, p.19 excerpt:

US national debt is around $US30 trillion ($48 trillion), bringing annual interest costs for the government near $US1 trillion and helping tip the nation's budget into a $US1.8 trillion deficit in fiscal 2024.

Sovereign debt accelerated sharply following the COVID-19 pandemic. That has sparked wider market concerns about the sustainability of the US balance sheet and sent bond yields advancing since Trump's election win in November. The bond market reaction is a concerning sign, according to Mr Lamm, given the US Federal Reserve has already begun to cut rates.

"The bond market appears to be taking a cautious view on rising inflation risks and elevated US budget deficits into an environment where there remains a high degree of uncertainty regarding the ultimate form and impact of President Trump's economic policies."

Meanwhile, gold - traditionally perceived as a safe haven asset to ride out wider market volatility - rose more than 25 per cent last year, touching a record high of nearly $US2800 an ounce in October.

Its best year in more than a decade was attributed to strong demand from global central banks - particularly the People's Bank of China, which revealed last month that it had resumed buying gold in November after a six-month hiatus....

20 JANUARY 2025: The day the music died...

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibWJO02nNsY

For the second time, 78 year-old Donald John Trump will be inaugurated as president of the United States of America shortly after noon on a Monday, 20 January.

This 47th swearing-in ceremony of a president will begin shortly after 4am Sydney time tomorrow morning, Tuesday 21 January 2025.

This is unchartered territory for America, having recently elected as its president an individual with thirty-four felony convictions for fraud against his name for acts occurring during the 2016 presidential campaign and one who had fomented violent insurrection on Capitol Hill, Washington DC on 6 January 2021. 

It is also unchartered territory for America's trading partners and political allies, having to deal with a president and administration whose actions after 20 January 2025 the US Congress appears to have little to no ability or desire to mitigate or constrain.

To be continued......

TUESDAY 5th NOVEMBER 2025: It's all over bar the shouting. America has voted for its own demise as a world leader

pic.twitter.com/BYaIGGDHRC

— Justinian (@JustinianNews) November 6, 2024

Before midnight on Wednesday, 6 November 2024 in Australia, news out of America was that Donald John Trump, court declared rapist, convicted fraudster and national security risk, was set to be elected as the 47th U.S. president having been its 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

Trump aka 'Putin's Bitch' declared victory after he reached and past the 270 Electoral College votes required to be declared elected - depending on which U.S. news outlet one was viewing - by around 6pm AEDST.

At first, second and third glance Australia remains unimpressed by the man and the politician.

There were isolated but genuine expressions of pleasure from some international quarters.... 

Bridget Archer MP speaking in support of Motion seeking to bring Australian journalist & activist home: "For more than 4½ thousand days and counting, Julian Assange has not experienced true freedom. We're now just a week away from a decision on his final UK court appeal, where he faces up to 175 years in prison over 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse. We know that his life is at risk."

 

Hansard, Votes and Proceedings, Motions, Wednesday 14 February 2024:

Assange, Mr. Julian Paul

Mr WILKIE (Clark) (16:48): I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following:

(1) the Member for Clark moving:

That this House:

(a) notes that:

(i) on 20 and 21 February 2024, the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom will hold a hearing into whether Walkley Award winning journalist, Mr Julian Assange, can appeal against his extradition to the United States of America;

(ii) Mr Assange remains incarcerated in HMP Belmarsh in the UK, awaiting a decision on whether he can be extradited to the USA to face charges for material published in 2010, which revealed shocking evidence of misconduct by the USA; and

(iii) both the Australian Government and Opposition have publicly stated that this matter has gone on for too long; and

(b) underlines the importance of the UK and USA bringing the matter to a close so that Mr Assange can return home to his family in Australia.

(2) debate on the motion being limited to the mover, seconder and two other Members;

(3) speaking times being 10 minutes for the mover and five minutes for all other Members speaking;

(4) amendments to the motion not being permitted; and

(5) any variation to the arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

The SPEAKER: Is the motion seconded?

Mr Josh Wilson: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.....

(Speakers to the motion were Andrew Wilke MP Independent, Josh Wilson MP Labor Party, Bridget Archer MP Liberal Party and Adam Paul Bandt MP The Greens. All spoke in support of the motion) 

The House divided. [17:20]

(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)

DIVISION: AYES 86 (44 majority) NOES 42 PAIRS 0

Right click on image to enlarge

Question agreed to.

Are multinational fossil fuel corporations leading Australian governments & regulators by the nose?

 

By the time Word War II drew to a close 77 years ago the world geopolitical map saw Australia identified not just as an existing state within the United Kingdom's wider economic zone, but as a prospective permanent political and economic client state of other Big Powers. Its natural resources to be harvested by fossil fuel corporations & extractive industries, exploited by foreign investors and its population a reliable supplier of future cannon fodder in support of their individual and sometimes joint global ambitions.

For her part, Australia would present as obligingly grateful for being treated as a commodity 'owned' by the wealthy top percentile of the northern hemisphere and the largest transnationals.

Nothing much appears to have changed since then…..

The Saturday Paper, 7 January 2023:

A United States congressional committee investigating fossil fuel disinformation has published internal documents on a major Australian fossil fuel project – described by energy multinational Chevron as “an Australian icon” – in what has become the investigation’s final publication before Republicans took control of congress on Tuesday.

The second and final memo, released by the US house oversight and reform committee, includes information from internal documents subpoenaed by the committee about Chevron’s plans to extract gas from its Gorgon project on Barrow Island, off the coast of Western Australia, beyond 2056. The committee included Gorgon as an example of how the industry is “doubling down on long-term fossil fuel investments” while publicly claiming that gas is “merely a ‘bridge fuel’ ” to cleaner energy in spite of scientists’ “significant concerns about continued reliance on natural gas in a warming climate”.

The committee released memos in September and December last year, alongside thousands of pages of internal documents subpoenaed from BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute. A sixth subpoena issued to the American Chamber of Commerce did not result in any documents being provided.

The two memos include references to the Australian activities of three of the four big oil companies it investigated – BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil – however, the December 2022 memo includes a particularly detailed focus on the Gorgon project, a joint venture led by Chevron, with partners including Shell and ExxonMobil.

According to the committee, the documents reveal that Chevron “is prepared to swoop in and expand its own fossil fuel business … even if other companies ultimately agree to reduce oil and gas production …”

In total, more than 200 of the 589 pages of Chevron documents published by the committee in December relate to Chevron’s operations in Australia, although many are covered almost completely by black boxes. The documents include a heavily redacted 179-page binder provided to Chevron board members visiting Australia and the Gorgon project in 2016, including details ranging from cultural advice on how to order a flat white to information on Chevron’s long-term ambitions for what it is describing as the “largest single-resource development in Australia’s history”.

According to the committee, internal documents shared with the board by then chief executive John S. Watson “emphasize” Chevron’s “long-term intentions for [Gorgon], despite climate concerns” and “the profits Chevron predicts it will reap”…...

Of the unredacted pages related to Chevron’s Gorgon trip, some are less pertinent than others. A cultural information section explains how light mocking should be considered “friendly banter” and not “an insult”. A rare unredacted section of the agenda shows the executives, directors and spouses were scheduled to receive a two-hour overview of Australian politics from Peter van Onselen, who is introduced as contributing editor at The Australian.

The December 2022 memo was not the first time the Gorgon project attracted the committee’s attention. Its September 2022 memo noted a carbon capture and storage facility at Gorgon that had “repeatedly failed to meet its storage target by about 50%” as an example of problems with that technology.

Another Australian example included in the December memo relates to BP’s strategies towards working with regulators here. A 2016 email from a BP executive to John Mingé, chairman and president of BP America, compares the company’s mindset in engaging with regulators in countries including Australia, the US and Germany.

The email describes how BP had gained an “advantaged position” with the regulator of its Australian oil refinery by engaging “proactively”. According to the internal memo, BP documents provided to the committee “show BP executives acknowledging that the company’s actions are often obstructionist towards the development of climate policy”.

Overall, the internal documents, along with further scientific sources cited by the memo, reveal that many of the public claims made by fossil fuel companies have been intentionally misleading.

As the committee’s then chair, Carolyn Maloney, said at a hearing in February: the investigation revealed that ExxonMobil scientists knew about the dangers of fossil fuels in 1978, and in the decades since, the fossil fuel industry has “waged a multimillion-dollar disinformation campaign” to prevent climate action, “all to protect its bottom line”…..

On December 25, journalist Amy Westervelt reported that, contrary to previous plans stated by the committee during its term, the December 9 memo may be the last document it publishes.

That same week, the new chair of the Democratic minority in the house oversight committee, Jamie Raskin, shared that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

The committee’s work being abruptly curtailed after only 18 months contrasts with the long-term time scales of the companies it is investigating, such as Chevron’s plans to secure profits beyond 2050. The Saturday Paper put a request for comment to Chevron but did not hear back before going to press.

Although the committee’s investigation is on hold, the US is significantly in front of Australia in its attempts to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.

Last month, Puerto Rico became the latest US jurisdiction to file climate accountability lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, joining dockets filed by seven US states and at least 35 municipal governments.

Puerto Rico – an unincorporated territory of the US in the Caribbean, where storms made worse by climate change have caused major recent disasters – is the first to use the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in its climate fraud case against Shell and other companies.

According to Wiles, it could be a “big loss” for these cases if the million pages held by the committee “never see the light of day”.

“The documents that have been released so far definitely provide new evidence on the side of the plaintiffs against the defendants.”

In Australia there are currently at least two court cases related to so-called greenwashing making their way through courts, including one case lodged by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

In 2022, two Australian regulators, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, announced plans to investigate greenwashing using existing laws.

Considering the memo’s revelation that BP has internally described its more proactive approach of working with regulators in Australia, it is unclear to what extent regulators alone can address the industry’s influence…..

BACKGROUND

North Coast Voices:

Friday, 6 January 2023

Global oil and gas industries make a combined US$4 billion in profit a day (or US$1 trillion annually) & have done so for the past 50 years. That obscene wealth is thought to be how these industries induce politicians & governments to only pay lip service

Monday, 2 January 2023

Who is undermining Australia’s climate change mitigation goals? Listing lobbyists contracted to act on behalf of fossil fuel industries